Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Lazy Americans

A book that is causing a buzz in economic circles is Tyler Cowen's The Complacent Class.  It is a companion piece to Gordon's book that we are reading for the next few weeks.  According to a book review (here), Cowen says

we've gone too far in trying to create perfect, insulated lives for ourselves and our kids. Without realizing it, we've created bubble worlds that we're afraid to change. Segregation is rampant, he argues, both by race and by class. In the south, the percentage of black students in majority-white schools peaked in 1988 at 43.5%. Today it's just 23.2%, a level similar to the 1960s.
Some point fingers at the poor or the Rust Belt as the "complacent class," but Cowen argues just about everyone in America is part of this class. He points to America's "traffic problems and crummy infrastructure."  

Cowen says we should take more risk in our personal and professional lives.  Should we?

6 comments:

  1. Yes. I think we should take more risks.

    We all have the power to do great things. We have to live on the edge sometimes to make life worth it. Everyone should try to step outside their comfort zones at least once a day. This promotes growth for yourself, and in turn, will help society progress in the long run.

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  2. I agree with Nick. Look at our campus for example. It is an open campus but there still is a "K Bubble". We should venture off campus and get more involved in the community and see what the city has to offer.

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  3. The problem with living in bubbles is that it can be so easy to become oblivious to the world outside them. Social change, as well as many collaborations and innovations were a result of people stepping out of their comfort zones and interacting with people from different backgrounds to theirs. Such "risks" are necessary.

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  4. I agree with everything Nick said. We definitely should take more risks, and stepping out of our comfort zones is an important skill that has to be practiced to master.
    I think the bubbles of comfort, which Cowen talks about, comes from not questioning why things are the way they are. If everything works for you, why would you stop to wonder why things aren't going well for others. Clearly, they must be doing something wrong. The "others" just never try.
    We should all pursue things we are good at, but not lose direction. We have the power to work in ways that have a positive impact. For people like us who are in the position to make a difference, it is sometimes hard for me to do things if it doesn't serve a purpose to society. But then again, that's my own personal value judgement, and I am a hypocrite at times.

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  5. I agree with what everyone else has said about the growth and innovation that can happen in society when we take more risks. However, it will take a conscious effort to do that. People will only start to take risks when they realise that they're living in a bubble.

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  6. I'm a little late on this one, but I agree with what everyone has said. Taking risks is a part of life! Get out of your comfort zone, you never know what you'll find.

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